


Flashback

by Firebluevixen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jacques Schnee is, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Qrow is not the bad guy here, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 13:55:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15120848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firebluevixen/pseuds/Firebluevixen
Summary: Qrow accidentally causes Winter to have a flashback of something awful. And she breaks because of it.





	Flashback

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally on another profile, but I moved it here. 
> 
> This was something I wrote when I wasn't doing so well mentally. I needed to get it out of my system. Trigger warnings, if you get triggered easily, this is not the fic for you.

Flashback

 

All I could do was stand there. The General was talking to this large group of kids, including my sister Weiss. And the one called Oscar apparently had Headmaster Ozpin's soul in him. I was at least happy to see that Weiss was okay. But that happiness was overshadowed by something else. Or rather, someone else. Qrow Branwen was here too. Gods I hate him. And it didn't help that he was yelling at the General for his choice to close Atlas' borders. Like he would know what was good for our kingdom.

Qrow suddenly seemed to remember that I was in the room because as soon as he was done yelling, he turned to me. I had to resist the urge to punch him when he gave me that damn shit eating grin. The same one he always presents when he wants to get a reaction out of me. But I was determined to not let him get the better of me this time. He had other plans.

“So, Ice Queen, what do you think of all of this? I mean, it was a pretty big secret that your boss kept from you, his supposed best soldier.” Qrow mocked as he took a step towards me. As he did, the smell of alcohol hit me hard. I had to fight to not gag as Qrow kept on talking. I managed to look away and not give him the pleasure of a reaction. I could hear one of the kids, Ruby I think, telling Qrow to leave me alone. Qrow scoffed at the girl. “Relax squirt, I'm just messing with her. Ain't that right, Ice Queen?” He laughed as he walked over to me and grabbed my shoulder. In a moment of rage I shoved him off of me and glared at him furiously.

“DON'T TOUCH ME!” I scream as I recoiled. I knew right away that something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Maybe it was Qrow's hand on my shoulder. Maybe it was the overwhelming stench of alcohol. Maybe it was his semblance, or some sort of combination of the three. But suddenly my heart began to race and my body froze. No. I mentally begged the Gods to not let this happen. Not here, not now. I thought I had come such a long way. I thought I had gotten stronger. I tried to fight it, but the panic attack had already started. I began to feel like I couldn't breathe. I began gasping for air and clenched at my chest over my heart with my hands. I could hear screaming and yelling around me, I heard Weiss crying my name. But she sounded so distant. I closed my eyes, hoping this nightmare would end. But it only got worse. 

……………….

I wasn't in the General's office with a large group of people anymore. I wasn't a soldier anymore. I was fourteen years old again. In my old room. I was alone. 

My bedroom door suddenly burst open. My father barged in, I could tell he was drunk as the stench of alcohol permeated off of him and almost made me sick. He charged up to me and grabbed my arm hard enough to leave bruises. He shoved me onto the floor. I tried to fight back, but he just kicked me down again. And then he spoke in a voice that almost didn't seem human, more like a growl.

“You're bitch mother is useless. I cant get anything out of her. So guess that leaves me with you.” My father grabbed my hair and pinned me to the floor. All I could do was scream and try to fight as my father used me, violated me, crossed boundaries no father should ever cross. I begged him to stop, to let me go. I cried. But my words fell on deaf ears. I kept screaming and screaming...

My eyes flew open and I gasped. I was back in the present. A flashback. It had all been a flashback. I looked around as I tried to steady my breathing. I was in a room, on a couch. I found Weiss next to me with her hands holding on to mine for dear life. 

“Winter! Oh thank Gods you're awake!” Weiss yelled as she dived into my arms. I felt horrible. Weiss always thought of me as strong, fearless, and I destroyed that image she had of me. All because I had a flashback. She started to cry. And I broke, crying with her as I wrapped my arms around her. I looked around again and mentally breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that we were the only two in the room. But my relief was short lived. Weiss, and everyone else, they were going to have questions. And I knew I had to answer them. 

…............

The next day was the most difficult day of my life. I had to sit there in front of this large group of people, mostly teenagers, with the General, Ozpin, and even Qrow. They started asking questions and I tried to remain calm. But that didn't happen. As soon as I started talking about it, everything in me broke. I confessed that my father had raped me, did so on numerous occasions, and that I went to Atlas Academy to escape from him. I confessed that I put up walls and boundaries and trained as hard as I could so that no could hurt me like that again. I couldn't stop talking and crying. I felt so damn weak and numb. Even after I was done, I still couldn't stop crying. 

I realized then that some of the kids had left the room. But everyone else just looked at me in shock. Weiss was holding me and refusing to let go as she cried. Making her own confession of how our father had beaten her on several occasions and that she should have known what was happening to me. I just held her tightly, telling her that everything was going to be okay, even though I knew that was a lie. 

“Qrow?” I heard Ozpin ask. I looked up in time to see Qrow walking over to the window. He was deathly silent, not responding to Ozpin as he opened the window and jumped out. The last I saw of him that day was his bird form flying away somewhere. I wouldn't find out where until the next day.

…...................

I tried to make things seem normal again. I forced myself to go back to work and complete my jobs. I wanted to forget everything. But as I was passing through the halls, I found a group of people standing around someones scroll and whispering. It wasn't until I heard one of them say “Jacques Schnee” that I stopped dead in my tracks. I walked over to the group and demanded to know what was going on. The group went silent and remained so until one brave soul spoke up.

“I thought you would have known by now, Ms. Schnee. Your father went missing from his office last night and...” I didn't need to hear anything more. I ran outside to make a call, only to find the very person I was going to call. 

Qrow was outside sitting against a wall. He looked like he was making a basic repair on his weapon. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, stopping a few feet away from him and clearing my throat to get his attention. He took a quick glance at me before going right back to his work.

“Something I can help you with, Winter?” Qrow asked with a gentle voice as he worked. My breath hitched in my throat when he said my name. But I shook of the shock.

“My father went missing last night.” I said, getting straight to the point. “Do...do you know anything about it?” I was nervous as I waited for him to reply. I couldn't help but notice that something was different about him. I couldn't place what it was though. After another minute of waiting, Qrow sighed and set his weapon down. He looked at me with a stern, but gentle expression. 

“I might know something, or I might not. That depends on what you want to hear,” Qrow stood up and put his hands in his pockets. It was then that I realized what was different. The smell of alcohol was gone. There wasn't a trace of it from Qrow, and my breath hitched again at the realization. Had he cleaned up...for me? I didn't get to think about it much longer as Qrow spoke again.

“I'll tell you right now, I have no idea where your dad is. But I can guarantee one thing. Jacques Schnee will never hurt another living soul again.” Qrow's eyes went dark for a moment as he spoke, but then he snapped out of it. He gave me a gentle look again. “Winter, I'm sorry. For the Hell I put you through, I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, I sure as Hell don't deserve it. But the least I can do is apologize. I'm sorry.” Qrow whispered the last apology as he picked up his weapon. He started to walk passed me, but I grabbed his sleeve to stop him.

“I...I forgive you Qrow.” I said to him before letting go. The look of pure shock on his lasted only a moment before he gave me the most genuine smile I've ever seen from a person. And to my surprise, I smiled back. 

Neither of us said anything else as we walked away from each other, but I learned and understood something that day. I don't have to be cold anymore. And that opening up can lead to emotional freedom. And at that moment, I had never felt so free.


End file.
